GOP's road to attempt to flip the House goes through Owensboro

OWENSBORO — The focal point for Republicans in their efforts to take control of the state House come down to taking out one incumbent in West Kentucky where Rep. Jim Glenn ,D-Owensboro, has clung to political life in the past two elections.

The race for 13th District House Representative has all of the elements of a premiere race — from hefty campaign accounts, to big spending outside groups leveling negative attacks, shifting voter patterns, and a reclusive incumbent who refused to go on camera with Pure Politics.

If history holds true, this is a race where literally every vote counts. Glenn has won the last two elections by less than a combined 500 votes.

In this election, Glenn faces perhaps his toughest challenger yet in Republican Alan Braden, a former city commissioner, who has kept pace financially in the cycle. But both candidates enter the final weeks with $70,000 in the bank.

Two members on Pure Politics traveled to the Owensboro district in attempts to fairly profile the race where Rep. Glenn refused an in-person attempt to talk about the election.

The race is being looked at around the state as a “must have” for the GOP in their attempt to flip the House from Democratic to Republican control which, Braden says has put added pressure on him.

“When I decided to get into the race, I knew nothing about Republicans flipping the House,” Braden said. “That was not part of my decision to run. It does put a little pressure obviously, to have that said about your race but it doesn’t change what we’re doing in terms of running the race.”

About Don Weber

Don Weber joined cn|2 when it launched back in May 2010 and soon became a reporter for Pure Politics. He is a graduate of Northern Kentucky University and has spent many years covering everything from politics to sports. Don says he loves meeting new people everyday as part of his job and also enjoys the fact that no two days are the same when he comes to work. Don Weber can be reached at donald.weber@charter.com.